NotableLakers versus Celticspublisher Electronic Arts recently merged Mythic Entertainment and BioWare into a single RPG super group. Unlike Tapeworm, this stellar group is bound to produce some digestible content: BioWare, at the very least, still hasMass Effect 2,Dragon Age: Origins, andStar Wars: The Old Republicslated for release. Mythic, on the other hand, hasWarhammer Online. As usual with these things, studio positions have shifted. BioWare’s Dr. Ray Muzukya is the group’s general manager, while the other doctor, Greg Zeschuk, is the new creative officer....

Captain Jaffe has really outdone himself with the sequel to his myth-meets-carnage epicGod of War. These three videos just hit the Intertubes and they look utterly phenomenal. The fluidity of movement is on par with that weekend you spent drowning snakes on your uncle’s Aquasnake Refinery, and the graphics really show what’s possible on a system that’s reached an age where it has become the console world’sBea Arthur.The above video is some awesome Kratos on Cerberus action followed by some equally awesome Kratos on Fat Medusa action....

Naturally, the next of the balance changes forStarCraft IIwill address the Zerg. Lead designer Dustin Browder breaks it down on the game’s official site: The intent is to make Zerg matches “feel and play better,” and the aforementioned bullet points are only some of the planned tweaks for the impending patch. If you are big into numbers, Blizzardalso has some statson how the three races stack up amongst the 1v1 scene across the different leagues....

Face it: there are plenty of gamers out there that will never find themselves sticking a UMD into their PlayStation Portable. It doesn’t matter if they’re A/V fiends, legal beagle downloaders or homebrewers; if there’s no UMD in the PSP slot, it’s basically wasted space. Why be wasteful?Team Xecuterisn’t. That’s why they’re announcing their newest creation: the UMEMD for the PSP. This UMD-shaped device that can store up to 4 memory sticks....

Shameless plug: I’m working on getting the next episode ofConstructoidout next week. It’s about giving constructive criticism to Nintendo, to help them win back self-identified “hardcore” gamers. What sucks is, I finished the episode about two weeks ago, and since then, Nintendo has already done a lot of the stuff that I suggested. Case in point — Nintendo has been wasting a lot of time and money lately trying to position itself near Hollywood celebrities....

I remember being at GDC 2007 and wandering around on the first day of the event, checking out the mobile gaming area and hearing what sounded like semi-feigned enthusiasm on the part of the developers about their games. “The future of mobile gaming looks bright!” was what I kept hearing, but somehow I couldn’t quite see it (although this was before I owned an iPhone). Apparently that’s been the general word on the street for some time, but Nintendo doesn’t think too much of it....

In a recent phoneinterview with Next Generation, Konami’s new marketing VP Anthony Crouts reveals what we (in our hearts) already knew: Hideo Kojima and Solid Snake are BFF. “I’m sure he’s never going to let go of Metal Gear Solid—trust me. [Snake’s] a big character, so as a franchise I think he’ll always hold it near and dear to his heart. ”In one capacity or another, he will always be involved in the Metal Gear franchise....

Oneechanbara Ris going to let you do some really cool interactive moves with your Wiimote, but honestly that’s not the reason I wanted to write about this upcoming title. The game itself is a zombie chop fest, which thrills me as I love anything with zombies, but the translation from theFamitsu articlewas what killed me. Check some of these gems out: In series as for the same straw raincoat system healthy!...

It was no secret thatOrion: Preludewas targeting Steam, and had been since its first public appearance. As of today, Spiral Games Studios is no longer aiming for this to happen — itishappening. The sci-fi shooter which inexplicably features dinosaurs is now on for a 2012 Steam release. It’ll have Steamworks integrated, meaning a few things. So far, Spiral has confirmed achievements, leaderboards and statistics, add-on content, lobbies/matchmaking, and a server browser....

Word has it that G4 handed pink slips to over a dozenX-Playstaff members this afternoon. We’re hearing that the layoffs precede a show slowdown — only a few episodes will air weekly, with reruns filling in the gaps between new stuff. Confirmation seemingly came from G4’s games editorial manager Abbie Heppe, whotweeted the sad newsaround an hour ago. She mentioned that her last day withX-Playwill be March 2. (She has since deleted the tweet....

A little while ago, a conversation onFar Cry 2creative directorClint Hocking’s blogled to a small experiment amongst the die-hard fans of the game. Manveer Heir argued that ethical choices are meaningless unless those choices are irreversible and backed up by permanent consequence: Clint Hocking argued that such a philosophy is one more applicable for linear narrative, and doesn’t take into account the game-specific mechanics of restarting and trying again. Eventually, this snowballed into an experiment revolving around Hocking’s game: how would the player-enforced concept of permanent death change the experience of playingFar Cry 2?...

Just a quick heads up: The PlayStation Network is partially down this morning due to maintenance. They don’t say how long it will be down (or partially functional), but promise to report back to the PlayStation blog when it’s ready to go again. They’re calling it “regular” maintenance, but I wonder if any of this has to do with therumors we heard yesterdayabout PlayStation Home possibly being “hacked.” Or maybe some new functionality overall?...

So, Wardrox forgot to remind me to do a Podcastle pre-show post. This is all his fault, somehow. Nevertheless, we have plenty to talk about, what with that mental in Germany shooting stuff up andFar Cry 2getting blamed. That will be the cause of much discussion, and we may also discuss a further three other subjects. One can only hope. We’ll be recording in a few hours, so if you want to HURRY THE BLOODY HELL UP and get us questions, that’d be grand....